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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-13-2014 07:00 PM

Sarah~

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciesmom

I'd say forget meet and greet. People come to see you, not the dog.

Also I did want to add that I only go through all of this when people want to see the dogs After they meet the dogs the first time unfortunately quite a few don't want to try it again.

06-13-2014 05:23 PM

Sarah~

Thanks for the replies guys

Eko does not act the same way outside of the house, usually he is very friendly, even though he has to wear a muzzle in case of dogs. So trying having him meet people outside sounds like it could really work! What you guys are talking about with the leash and prong is what the private trainer was having me do, but I never could make Eko calm down when we practiced and then he snapped at that girl and we didn't let him out around visitors at all after that. We will try meeting outside and see if that helps

As for Xena, yes she does act pretty much the same way outside of the house. She goes to sniff and they can't pay any attention or she runs behind me and peeks out at them. The thing is she never used to want to meet people at all and the fact she even approaches people has taken months and months of work. She used to just corner herself, drool, shake, and wet herself when anyone came around and paid attention to her except me. We still can't get her to calm down at the vet, she corners herself by my legs under the bench, and the vet is always very slow and careful touching Xena because of how badly she shakes and looks scared.

The sniffing then nudging thing has been how she greeted people inside and out for a while, it's worked really well until now and I worry that she might get aggressive with people outside the house just like she has inside if they don't listen to the instructions I give, which happens a lot. So far on walks all she has done to people that didn't stand still was jump back with a little growl, it's much worse inside.

06-13-2014 12:26 PM

graciesmom

I'd say forget meet and greet. People come to see you, not the dog. She needs to understand that. She also needs to understand that she doesn't get a say in who can come in the house. That's your job. As for the guests, I agree they should be encouraged to ignore her, that way you are not competing with new people for her attention. Let her sniff and check them out, but no jumping, etc. If she does, give her a command such as down. No compliance is a one way ticket to the bedroom or kennel. I'm probably not describing this correctly, but I read about this in Jan Fennel's "The Dog Listener". It made a lot of sense to me and so I'm trying to apply to my 6 month old. Can't say which is harder, getting the dog to understand or the guests, but I think it's the guests.

06-13-2014 12:01 PM

wyoung2153

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarfish

if we skip the outside part. she is on a leash with prong collar and in a down stay when people come in. we tell the visitor to ignore her. when the dog starts ignoring/not paying any attention to the visitor then we let the dog approach them and smell them while telling the visitor to ignore her. after the sniff we let the visitor feed her treats. usually hot dogs.

Exactly! After a few times with the meet and greet outside, we tried skipping the outside part and he was back to barking like crazy. If we have no other choice but to skip the meet and greet, then he is, like yours, leashed with a prong and ignored until he is calm.. then he gets treats

06-13-2014 11:49 AM

scarfish

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyoung2153

One comment I want to first say is it is not okay to coddle your dog when she is afraid. It encourages the behavior and let's her know it's ok to be scared in that situation because mom says so. You don't need to discipline her for being scared but ignoring the behavior and acting normal will go a long way in letting her know it's ok in that situation.

Im curious if this interaction is only in the home or is it outside the home too? how does she interact with people in neutral territory? I do think it is a good idea that you keep Eko away until he calms. I have to do something similar with Titan. he loves meeting people outside the home but in the home he goes nuts. I luck out in that he has a solid stay and won't move from his bed but will continue barking. I have changed my methods though and that is to greet people outside in the driveway with Titan and they meet and greet out there, then we walk in together. It has worked so much better than anything else I have tried. It maybe worth a shot for you to try.

+1. meeting people outside has proved to be the best way for us. our 1.5 yr old female is very skittish around strangers and is protective of the house. she wants to keep distance and bark the whole time when strangers come over.

if we skip the outside part. she is on a leash with prong collar and in a down stay when people come in. we tell the visitor to ignore her. when the dog starts ignoring/not paying any attention to the visitor then we let the dog approach them and smell them while telling the visitor to ignore her. after the sniff we let the visitor feed her treats. usually hot dogs.

06-13-2014 11:19 AM

wyoung2153

One comment I want to first say is it is not okay to coddle your dog when she is afraid. It encourages the behavior and let's her know it's ok to be scared in that situation because mom says so. You don't need to discipline her for being scared but ignoring the behavior and acting normal will go a long way in letting her know it's ok in that situation.

Im curious if this interaction is only in the home or is it outside the home too? how does she interact with people in neutral territory? I do think it is a good idea that you keep Eko away until he calms. I have to do something similar with Titan. he loves meeting people outside the home but in the home he goes nuts. I luck out in that he has a solid stay and won't move from his bed but will continue barking. I have changed my methods though and that is to greet people outside in the driveway with Titan and they meet and greet out there, then we walk in together. It has worked so much better than anything else I have tried. It maybe worth a shot for you to try.

06-13-2014 10:53 AM

MaggieRoseLee

How are your dogs when you are out and about with your normal socializing?

Are you working in what you are learning in your dog classes? Even if you have to go to privates initially your instructor should be giving good hints and tips so you can progress.

06-13-2014 09:42 AM

Sarah~

Help with problems greeting people

So, I have a ritual at my house before any visitors are allowed to meet the dogs. My boyfriend thinks it's ridiculous and a pain, but so far I think it works for them. I am happy with the progress I have made with Xena especially but I'm sure there is room for improvement with both dogs.

This is what we have to do anytime someone comes over who actually wants to hang out with the dogs (if not they are crated):

1. Put Eko in the bedroom before the person even gets to the door. Otherwise he lunges and snaps, we were working with a trainer on it but then he jumped up and almost bit a girl in the face and for a long time he was crated when people came over, period. We recently found out (on accident) that after a little while, he settles down, can come out and be his normal, friendly self. But when people knock and come in the door is when I feel it is not safe. My boyfriend feels it is not safe at all and he should still be put away when people come over.

2. After they come in, they have to let Xena come sniff them before they can say pet or say hi to her. She sniffs their shoes and legs for a few minutes, then when she nudges their hand with her nose it's okay to touch and pet her. If they move suddenly, look at, or talk to her she bolts behind me and waits for them to stand still and ignore her again before she starts the whole sniffing thing all over. They can talk to us, just not to her.

3. When Xena is done and Eko is quiet (no more barking or growling), Eko comes out of the bedroom and he is usually very excited and ready to come say hi to everyone.

We do this every time someone comes over, it works for them and up until recently haven't had any problems. I guess the biggest thing is they do this to everybody, every time. Even family and good friends who have known the dogs their whole lives and come over often. Eko is worse than Xena, though, because Xena remembers more people. There are maybe 3 people Eko won't be aggressive to (me, my boyfriend, my roommate) when coming into the house and a couple he barks at, but doesn't lunge or snap.

A few times lately, Xena has been very testy with a few people who tried to pet her over her head, too soon, or took steps toward her before she was comfortable with them. Last night she got so scared because a friend kept trying to pet her before she was okay with it. She was jumping at the guy then jumping back, growling, barking, I had to pick her up and sit her next to me on the couch. She gave the guy a pretty hard stare the whole time until he left, and my boyfriend and I are debating over whether I should have picked her up. He said don't do that, you're rewarding her for being scared; I say that it's okay to comfort her when she's afraid because I have read it here before in some articles. We are both concerned about it because unlike Eko, Xena actually has bitten before, even though it was provoked and didn't break skin, only bruised and a small scratch. This was totally unrelated to greeting people.

So, long story short, I have a two part question: Do you think it is safe to let Eko out after he settles down, and do you think petting Xena when she's scared is making her fear worse?